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re: The St. Louis Rams’ ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot’ Protest [W:256]

Originally Posted by mike2810

Can you provide evidence that the Rams organization or the NFL authorized the actions of the five players?

imo, the team organization nor the NFL approved such actions.

No, they didn't. They ruled that they had exercised their free speech and left it at that. Both the Rams and the NFL had all the position to push forward if they wanted to, they didn't. Those are the only folk who really had a say in punishment.

You know the time is right to take control, we gotta take offense against the status quo

Originally Posted by A. de Tocqueville

"I should have loved freedom, I believe, at all times, but in the time in which we live I am ready to worship it."

re: The St. Louis Rams’ ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot’ Protest [W:256]

Originally Posted by rocket88

They supported what they thought was right. Nobody got hurt (except for the Raiders, wow...). The Miami Heat came out for warmups wearing hoodies during the Trayvon Martin kerfuffle. After Sterling's comments, the Clippers made a show of warming up without anything that said "Clippers" on it. You could even say it's something of a political statement that Daniel Snyder's NFL team continues to wear gear that says "Redskins."

The important thing is that nobody got hurt. You may not agree, but they said their piece and nobody got hurt as a result. You don't have a right to have your political views catered to.

They, the players had every right to do what they did. I think a sporting event was the wrong avenue as we watch football to get away from the drudge, the fears, of daily life and spent sometime in a bit of the fantasy world. But this was not the first sporting event for a player or players to display some sort of protest and it will not be the last.

Outside of a small disagreement of the choice of stages, I am fine with it.

This Reform Party member thinks it is high past time that we start electing Americans to congress and the presidency who put America first and their political party further down the line. But for way too long we have been electing Republicans and Democrats who happen to be Americans instead of Americans who happen to be Republicans and Democrats.

re: The St. Louis Rams’ ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot’ Protest [W:256]

Originally Posted by Ikari

No, they didn't. They ruled that they had exercised their free speech and left it at that. Both the Rams and the NFL had all the position to push forward if they wanted to, they didn't. Those are the only folk who really had a say in punishment.

That is fine.

However as a fan of the NFL I have the right to voice an opinion that is was inappropriate. Free speech you know

re: The St. Louis Rams’ ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot’ Protest [W:256]

Does anyone really care what a bunch of football players think? They're probably as uninformed as most of the residents of Ferguson are. As was said earlier, they'll be the first to call the St Louis PD if they need them and probably have many of their officers working side jobs as security for them similar to the San Francisco case earlier this year. No telling how many DUI's, domestic abuse incidents, petty drug arrests, etc have been swept under the rug by the St Louis PD for them. If we see some Rams players going down for various offenses soon, we'll know why lol

“Mr. Speaker, I once again find myself compelled to vote against the annual budget resolution for a very simple reason: it makes government bigger.” ― Ron Paul
Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of Liberty. – Thomas Jefferson

re: The St. Louis Rams’ ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot’ Protest [W:256]

Originally Posted by MarineTpartier

Does anyone really care what a bunch of football players think? They're probably as uninformed as most of the residents of Ferguson are. As was said earlier, they'll be the first to call the St Louis PD if they need them and probably have many of their officers working side jobs as security for them similar to the San Francisco case earlier this year. No telling how many DUI's, domestic abuse incidents, petty drug arrests, etc have been swept under the rug by the St Louis PD for them. If we see some Rams players going down for various offenses soon, we'll know why lol

There are people--particularly impressionable kids--at do care what these dumbasses have to say. The problem I have, is that the claim that Brown was surrendering is a bald-face-****ing-lie. These idiots are promoting the lie.

Originally Posted by americanwoman

So there is absolutely no evidence this woman, whom you called a slut, did this but you are ready to take someone's word as evidence. Guess you don't think witch hunts have to end when it's going after the certain people.

re: The St. Louis Rams’ ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot’ Protest [W:256]

Originally Posted by Perotista

They, the players had every right to do what they did. I think a sporting event was the wrong avenue as we watch football to get away from the drudge, the fears, of daily life and spent sometime in a bit of the fantasy world. But this was not the first sporting event for a player or players to display some sort of protest and it will not be the last.

Outside of a small disagreement of the choice of stages, I am fine with it.

You're ok with these clowns promoting a lie?

Originally Posted by americanwoman

So there is absolutely no evidence this woman, whom you called a slut, did this but you are ready to take someone's word as evidence. Guess you don't think witch hunts have to end when it's going after the certain people.

re: The St. Louis Rams’ ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot’ Protest [W:256]

Originally Posted by apdst

There are people--particularly impressionable kids--at do care what these dumbasses have to say. The problem I have, is that the claim that Brown was surrendering is a bald-face-****ing-lie. These idiots are promoting the lie.

re: The St. Louis Rams’ ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot’ Protest [W:256]

Originally Posted by MarineTpartier

Does anyone really care what a bunch of football players think? They're probably as uninformed as most of the residents of Ferguson are. As was said earlier, they'll be the first to call the St Louis PD if they need them and probably have many of their officers working side jobs as security for them similar to the San Francisco case earlier this year. No telling how many DUI's, domestic abuse incidents, petty drug arrests, etc have been swept under the rug by the St Louis PD for them. If we see some Rams players going down for various offenses soon, we'll know why lol

Kids don't know their not informed though. If anything, all this does it to serve to justify the actions of the entire movement, including those fools looting and burning down buildings.

re: The St. Louis Rams’ ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot’ Protest [W:256]

Originally Posted by tres borrachos

I'm a libertarian, and I don't see where you "espoused a libertarian position on this." Can you show me where the libertarian position on exceptional black football players being supported in protest and exceptional white football players not being equally supported in protest is documented?

The libertarian position is thus: The players and officers are all free to use their positions to make political statements. The league and teams are free to sanction them for that speech, should they so choose. The state, however, is restrained from taking action against any citizen for political speech thanks to the First Amendment. Thus, if a white player makes a pro KKK statement in public, he's free to do so, but he'll probably lose his job and become a public villain. I'm cool with that.

The reason their status as "exceptional" matters is because they're difficult to replace, making sanctioning that speech much more painful for the employer.

I see the Rams receivers making their "hands up" gesture and the officers issuing a statement as both being ethical uses of speech, but that doesn't mean there's no risk.